Click Here To Purchase V: The Second Generation

Author: Kenneth Johnson

ISBN: 978-0-7653-1906-7

A race of staggeringly advanced extraterrestrials (the Visitors) has occupied the earth for over twenty years. The Visitors would have us believe that they are a benevolent and calming force, and it’s hard to argue with the fact that wars no longer plague the world and many previously incurable diseases have been eradicated. Never mind that scientists, journalists, teachers and other sorts of agitators are forced to live in ghettos reminiscent of Central Europe during World War II; never mind that the Visitors are siphoning away the oceans (to clean them, they claim); never mind the millions of people who have disappeared since their arrival. These are all necessary for the greater good, they say. But however much humanity has been duped by the Visitors and their lies, a determined band of resistance fighters seeks to expose them for the nasty bunch of earth-destroying reptiles that they really are.

This is the main story line of V: The Second Generation, Kenneth Johnson’s sequel to his best-selling novel V, but there are plenty of sub-plots in this thriller, and most readers will find the book to be an addictive page-turner.

As Johnson related in an interview with bookpleasures.com, however, the real driving force of his work is the characters he creates, and V: The Second Generation is no exception. In fact, one of the major complications in the novel is the involvement of three mysterious characters who turn out to be aliens as well, but these three are enemies of the Visitors. Will the enemies of our enemy turn out to be our friends? We don’t find out until deep into the book.

Another intriguing character is a Beyoncé-type singer named Emma, beloved by humans and Visitors alike, who is co-opted into the resistance movement. As unlikely a double-agent as there ever was, we meet Emma when she is a kind of spokesperson for her Visitor friends, but once she is confronted by the darker aspects of The Visitor Way, she has a change of heart.

Here is an excerpt from her pivotal moment, when she is visiting a woeful hospice for the unwanted and indigent: “She realized what she was feeling was shame. She felt like a latter-day Scarlett O’Hara, who had always been egocentric and utterly self-absorbed in her own privileged world, until she suddenly discovered the thousands of wounded Civil War soldiers spread across the enormous train yard in Atlanta. The war, with all of its unspeakable horrors, suddenly became grievously tangible and undeniable because she was looking into the very face of it.”

This excerpt is noteworthy for two reasons: First, it highlights the manner in which Johnson successfully draws the reader into the emotional turmoil that his characters experience. Indeed, one of the strengths of Johnson’s writing is how much we come to care for the characters and their journeys.

The second issue regarding the above excerpt concerns Johnson’s writing style itself. For with his reference to one of the most visually-arresting moments of the epic film Gone With the Wind, where the true scale of the Civil War confronts both Scarlett and the viewer, Johnson reveals that he is above all else a visually-oriented writer, and is intent on creating memorable visuals.

This style of writing is understandable given that Johnson is a director. But the strange thing about V: The Second Generation is this: reading it is a lot like watching television. That is to say, the book is entertaining, filled with well-wrought imagery, and keeps moving forward at a snappy pace. Which is great for the reader who is looking for a gripping yet light read, and certainly follows the well-known writer’s axiom of “show, don’t tell.”

Still, despite racing through the book himself, the reviewer has misgivings about this style of writing. Which is strange, because the book really was good. It contained interesting characters, was well-written and was not predictable. And yet a nagging concern about the book remains, one which, admittedly, is just a hunch: many passages read as if they were adapted from a screenplay.

But to say that V: The Second Generation is formulaic would be both overly critical and unfair to Johnson’s well-honed storytelling skills. Because the bottom line is that V: The Second Generation is an entertaining novel written by one of the most successful television series and movie directors of the last twenty years. So don’t be surprised if the film adaptation appears soon on a screen near you.

The above review was contributed by:  Jim Curtiss: Jim is a cultural sojourner who makes his living as a freelance editor, writer, actor, and teacher. Much of his work deals with the challenges and glories of the expatriate lifestyle. Jim and his wife currently live in Seville, Spain. To read more of Jim's Reviews CLICK HERE

To read Jim's very interesting interview with Kenneth Johnson CLICK HERE

 Click Here To Purchase V: The Second Generation